Nature

By the end of today, 96 African elephants will have been killed. Due to this rate of poaching, the current African elephant population is estimated to have fallen to just 415,000 (IUCN 2016) and the situation is even worse for Asian elephants with an estimated population of about 50,000 (IUCN Red List). This is extremely heartbreaking because not only do elephants have intrinsic value but they are also one of the few flagship and keystone species. If they disappear, the entire ecosystem will collapse.

As we celebrate World Elephant Day on August 12th, I reflect upon what I have learned and realize that to be able to save the largest terrestrial mammal on Earth, we need to protect their habitats, stop the violent poaching and trafficking, support communities that are affected by human-elephant conflicts, and stop the demand for ivory.

Sri Lanka, the emerald isle, is endowed with natural beauty. Surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the island nation is replete with wondrous wildlife, magnificent landscapes and natural wonders.

Inspired by this, the World Bank in Sri Lanka organized a photo contest on 21st June, 2017. This contest, one of several organized by the Bank, is aimed at showcasing the many talented photographers among us as well as celebrating the rich flora and fauna of Sri Lanka.

Photo Credit: Mokshana Wijeyeratne, World Bank

We received an overwhelming response from many talented photographers, both professional and amateur, who sent us hundreds of awe-inspiring entries. The contest ended on 30th June, 2017. We have now shortlisted a total of 167 entries after removing those which had issues with reference to clarity, quality and relevance.

Now, it's time to look for the winners and we are putting you in the driver's seat. Crowdsourcing, as you know, is a very popular method of selection for online contests globally. Therefore, for this particular contest, the winner will be chosen on the basis of the number of likes that you have clicked.

When a family of 10 smooth-coated otters appeared in Singapore’s urban downtown of Marina Bay last year, the city was ablaze with excitement and delight. Who would have thought that these otters would make a dense urban environment like Singapore home? After all, otters were thought to have vanished in the 1970s as Singapore rapidly developed into a dense metropolis.

Was this a fad? Probably. Was this a big deal? Absolutely. In a small city-state where land is considered a scarce resource, the tension between urban development and biodiversity conservation can be very pronounced. This was not the case in Singapore. Between 1986 and 2010, as Singapore’s urban population doubled from 2.7 to 5 million, its green cover also increased from 36% to 50%, all within the confines of just 710 square kilometers. The increase in green cover in urbanized Singapore was seen as a sign that the efforts by the urban planning agency, parks and water management boards had paid off, and a testament that the natural environment could be indeed be integrated effectively into the urban fabric of the city.

Today is World Environment Day. This year, it celebrates the theme of “connecting people to nature,” and invites us to think about how we are part of nature—and how intimately we depend on it.